Flash: Japanese Nuclear Radiation Levels at Fukushima 10 million times normal

This level of radiation is astronomically high. Again, I will update this with the details when they come in, so check back but my only thoughts is there must be a full-blown nuclear meltdown under way at the Fukushima plant which is unconfined and leaking radiation directly into atmosphere.

Story Updates:

The following is the status of each of six nuclear reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant as of 9 a.m., Japantime.

The company pumped fresh water into No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 reactors, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said. The external power supply has been restored for all six reactors as of March 22, according to Tokyo Electric Power.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a “certain level of progress” has been made while speaking on an NHK television program today.

No. 1: Contaminated water in the turbine structure contains 10,000 times the radiation of regular cooling water, NHK said. The company has started removing contaminated water from the basement of the turbine building and will prepare more pumps to drain the water, the agency said. The unit has been damaged since a March 12 hydrogen explosion destroyed the building’s walls. The seriousness of the reactor’s threat to safety is rated level five on aninternational scale of 1-7.

No. 2: Contaminated water in the turbine structure contains 10 million times more radiation than normal cooling water, NHK said. The company plans to remove contaminated water as early as today, the agency said. The company plans to start using freshwater on fuel pool from March 28, the agency said. The containment chamber may have been damaged in a March 15 explosion, and a power cable was reconnected to the unit on March 19. The reactor is rated a level-five threat.

No. 3: Contaminated water in the turbine structure contains 10,000 times the normal radiation, NHK said. The company is considering ways to remove the contaminated water, the agency said. A March 14 explosion damaged the unit’s fuel cover. The reactor is rated a level-five threat.

No. 4: The company plans to spray water in the spent-fuel cooling pool this afternoon, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said. The agency said on March 17 there may be no water in the pool. It’s rated at three on the threat level. This reactor was undergoing maintenance when the earthquake hit.

No. 5: The unit was idle for maintenance before the earthquake.

No. 6: The reactor achieved cold shutdown at 7:27 p.m. on March 20 when the temperature fell below 100 degrees Celsius, the company said. A backup generator was fixed March 19, according to a company press release. The unit was idle for maintenance before the earthquake.

Update 12:53 PM EST

Still very little on the evacuation, except it is being reported on NHK Japan news in english, which you can watch here on my home page at http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com.

Extreme radiation detected at No.2 reactor

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has detected radioactive materials 10-million-times normal levels in water at the No.2 reactor complex of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The plant operator, known as TEPCO, says it measured 2.9-billion becquerels of radiation per one cubic centimeter of water from the basement of the turbine building attached to the Number 2 reactor.

The level of contamination is about 1,000 times that of the leaked water already found in the basements of the Number 1 and 3 reactor turbine buildings.

The company says the latest reading is 10-million times the usual radioactivity of water circulating within a normally operating reactor.
TEPCO says the radioactive materials include 2.9-billion becquerels of iodine-134, 13-million becquerels of iodine-131, and 2.3-million becquerels each for cesium 134 and 137.

These substances are emitted during nuclear fission inside a reactor core.

The company says the extremely contaminated water may stem from a damaged reactor core, and are trying to determine how the leakage occurred.

University of Tokyo graduate school professor Naoto Sekimura says the leak may come from the suppression chamber of the Number 2 reactor, which is known to be damaged. The chamber is designed to contain overflows of radioactive substances from the reactor.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 13:44 +0900 (JST)

High radiation detected 30 km from Fukushima plant

Radiation levels 40 percent higher than the yearly limit for the general public has been detected just over 30 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The Science Ministry says a reading of 1.4 millisieverts was taken on Wednesday morning in Namie Town northwest of the plant.

The government has not told residents outside the 30-kilometer radius of the plant to evacuate, or even to stay indoors.

Someone staying outdoors for 24-hours at that location would exceed the annual limit of one millisievert. The limit is based on a recommendation by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

The science ministry obtained the reading after monitoring 10 locations outside the 30-kilometer zone, following reports that relatively high levels of radiation were found outside that area.

Radiation exerts now say the amount of radiation detected does not pose a health risk. But they advise residents in the area to stay alert for any possible rise in radiation levels, because the power plant is not likely to stop releasing radiation any time soon.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 08:53 +0900 (JST)

Higher level of iodine 131 detected in seawater

The Japanese government says radioactive iodine in excess of 1,850 times regulated standards was found in seawater collected near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Saturday.

On Friday, iodine 131 at a then-record 1,250 times regulated standards was detected in seawater collected in the same place 330 meters south of a plant water outlet.

The nuclear safety agency says there is no immediate threat to people within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone from the nuclear power plant.

The agency adds that seawater is dispersed by ocean currents and the contamination level will decline.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 12:16 +0900 (JST)

Finally hacked the ASF Stream – those f**kers programmed their video stream to point to a local IP (Ref2=http://192.168.1.34:80/daily/english/update/wmv/27_12_256k.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf) to crash any program trying to record it after the video cast.

Leaked water in Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant measured 10 million times higher than usual radioactivity levels when the reactor is operating normally, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita told reporters in Tokyo.

Radioactivity in the air in Unit 2 measured at 1,000 millisieverts per hour — four times higher than the occupational limit of 250 millisieverts set by the government, he said.

This news comes in the wake of a temporary evacuation of the plant late last week, triggered when puddles were found to have radiation levels 10,000 times the norm.

“Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano… said the radioactive water is “almost certainly” seeping from a reactor core,” the AP reported.

Here’s latest updates on the situation at Fukushima from Saturday and Friday

Radiation 10 million times normal at Japan nuclear plant

Workers evacuated at Fukushima Unit 2; water ‘almost certainly’ seeps from a core

TOKYO — Radioactivity in water at one earthquake-crippled Japanese nuclear reactor soared to 10 million times its usual level Sunday, prompting the plant operator to evacuate workers, local media reported.

The report about Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor Unit 2 came as Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers were grappling with how to remove and store highly radioactive water pooling there and in two other troubled units.

TEPCO spokesman Takashi Kurita told reporters Sunday that leaked water in Unit 2 measured at 1,000 millisieverts per hour. That’s 10 million times higher than the radioactivity level when the reactor is operating normally, or roughly the same as 89 CT scans, according to NBC News experts.

The nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan has been leaking radiation making its way into food and water.

…

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, speaking Sunday on TV talk shows, said the radioactive water is “almost certainly” seeping from a reactor core.

Workers were focusing Sunday on extracting the contaminated water from three of the plant’s six reactors and trying to find a safe place to store or dispose of it, TEPCO officials said.

…

Radiation levels in the sea off the Fukushima Daiichi plant rose on Sunday to 1,850 times normal just over two weeks after the disaster struck, from 1,250 on Saturday, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

(Reuters) – Japanese authorities evacuated workers on Sunday from a reactor building they were working in after high doses of radiation were detected at a crippled nuclear power plant, the plant’s operator said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said radiation 10 million times the usual level was detected in water that had accumulated at the No. 2 reactor’s turbine housing unit.

A Tokyo Electric official said workers left the No. 2 reactor’s turbine housing unit to prevent exposure to radiation.

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